Monday, September 28, 2009

[Concert Review: Blink-182]

My good friend Jen Loglia [her blog] won tickets from a radio station to go see Blink-182 in concert in Tampa and I was the lucky person she chose to go with her!

It took place yesterday [Sunday, September 27, 2009] at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida. [Just a side note, I hate Ford Amphitheater. I had always thought that I would forever dislike outdoor venues and that they all sucked - until I went to Bayfront Park in Miami, which is an intimate outdoor venue, if that's possible to believe.]

Playing that day was Asher Roth, All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy and Blink-182. I did not see Asher Roth and will consider myself better for it.

All-American Rejects were just okay: Tyson Ritter [the lead singer] had recently suffered a leg injury of sorts that rendered him in a full-length leg cast and wheeled around in a wheelchair for parts of the performance. He was also clearly doped up on pain meds; he had joked about it at the beginning of his performance, but I didn't realize he was serious until he held the mic up at various times to his wheelchair girl to sing and had the audience sing about 70% of "Gives You Hell" (their latest single). Overall, I think it could have been better, but I will forgive them this time...

Fall Out Boy was just okay, as well. Note: this was the FOURTH time I have seen Fall Out Boy in concert (them being my very first concert for UCF's Homecoming back in Nov. 2007). This was also my least favorite time seeing Fall Out Boy, though I will say that the venue may have had something to do with that, with its obnoxiously distorting speakers and literally blinding LCD screens. FOB played their big hits (Dance Dance, Thanks for the Memories, Sugar We're Going Down, etc), as well as various songs from across their 3 albums. Overall, they were a good runner-up band to Blink-182.

Finally, Blink-182 came on stage - and they made the entire 3-hour roundtrip drive, 90+ degree heat and crappy venue worth it. They were everything you'd expect from Blink-182 in concert: crazy, funny, potty-mouthed, goofing off with on-stage antics [drinking contest on stage, anyone?] - and seriously rocking out. The guys put on a great show, playing many of their popular radio hits [What's My Age Again, I Miss You, The Rock Show, All the Small Things, etc] as well as some other songs from their older albums. The camera loved panning over Travis Barker (drummer) and rightfully so: he's one of the most talented drummers in the music industry at the moment, further showcased by an insane drum solo on an aerial stage that was suspended in mid-air during their encore. Overall, I would highly recommend seeing them to anyone who loves even one Blink-182 song or just loves being at a good rock show. Here's to hoping they stick together and come out with a new album soon!

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